KENT—Runners of the recent 48th annual Pumpkin Run enjoyed a “super day for racing,” under sunny skies and with low humidity, according to Chamber of Commerce race committee chair, Gary Kidd.
“It was just a fantastic day,” said Kidd. “We want to thank all the sponsors and volunteers. We had to change a couple of things with early voting, but it worked very well, right down to volunteers chipping and helping out.”
While waiting for the Oct. 27 race to begin, visitors were entertained by musician George Potts and browsed the various booths lining the start/finish area.
A kids’ fun run, with 120 children participating, was held before the main event.
Spectators lined the streets.
“It was lovely to see people sitting out on their lawns and clapping and cheering the people on,” said Kidd.
The lawn in front of Kent Town Hall was festooned with colorful costumes as runners eschewed their usual running attire to pay homage to Halloween.
The Pumpkin Run is traditionally held the last Sunday before the holiday.
Taking first place in the costume contest was the Faulk/Durgin family of Danbury, They delivered a whole farm scenario to the race, with dad as a goat, mom, Bonnie Durgin, as a Holstein cow, Ryan Faulk, as the “driver” of a John Deere tractor, and the couple’s children aboard the tractor. Their dog walked with them.
The family was not going to be in the top echelon of the runners with their pace-slowing entourage. Those honors went to William Sanders of Marlborough, the top runner in the male division, who took first place overall with a chip time of 25:29.26.
He was followed by Nick Conway of Albany, N.Y., whose chip time was 26:38.43, and Reid McGrath, of Pawling, N.Y., who came in at 26:46.75.
Anna Shields of Hartford was the first female with a chip time of 30:56:38, followed by Kerin Hempel of Kent at 31:24.36, and Nina Koobatian of Southbury at 32:56.88.
There was 74 years between the oldest runner, 83-year-old Tom Hatch of South Kent, and the youngest, two 9-year-olds, A. Decker, a girl from Warren, and C. Gregory, a boy from New Milford.
The Pumpkin Run has been a mainstay of Kent’s fall season since it was inaugurated in 1976 by the Kent Lions Club. Now organized by the Chamber of Commerce, it has been held every year since, with the exception of 2020, when it was held virtually.
Kidd said that he is still waiting to hear about the revenue from the race, but that 20 percent of the registration fees will be given to the Jane Lloyd Fund, which helps those undergoing treatment for cancer with their day-to-day expenses.
In addition, there were collection bins for those who wished to donate to the Lloyd Fund or the Kent Food Bank.
The sale of T-shirts and mugs from previous races will also be directed to the food bank.
“I’m waiting for those figures,” Kidd said.
